Couldn't Be Ours
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day two hundred and fifty-nine: After making her agreement with Shelby, Quinn has to tell her mother.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th cycle. Now cycle 13!_

* * *

**"Couldn't Be Ours"  
****Quinn & Mom **

After she'd left Shelby Corcoran, Quinn had returned to her room, still so tired. She had gotten into her bed, tried to sleep… She dozed off, but not for long. And when she woke up, she knew what she had to do. She'd reached for the card in the pocket of her robe and pulled at the receiver off her bedside phone. She called Puck first, then Shelby. She told her she would accept her offer and let her adopt Beth.

Her mother returned to her room just as she was hanging up. "Who was that, dear?" she asked, but paused when she saw the way Quinn looked at the small pink teddy bear in her hand. "Oh…" she smiled, laughed. "I just… I passed the gift shop, and I couldn't help myself, see?" she presented it. It was sweet, and as Quinn took it, she breathed out.

"Mom, I…" she started.

"Oh, I know, you must be tired," Judy brushed some of her daughter's hair behind her ear, stroked her cheek. "I remember, when I had you…"

"Mom," Quinn repeated, stopping her. Judy nodded, clueless. Quinn frowned to herself, trying to find the words. "I'm not keeping her," she decided to be direct, needed for her mother to understand. "I-I can't… and it's not about you, I…" She could see her mother was trying not to show that this was affecting her. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, Quinny," she smiled and shook her head, taking a seat on the edge of her bed, laying a hand over her daughter's. "It's your decision, of course. I guess I just… I wanted to… make up for what I did… didn't do… and I know I could have helped, I mean I know I have my failings as a mother…"

"Mom…" now it was her who shook her head. "Don't say that. You were just different… when he was involved," she pointed out. They were silent for a moment. "He wasn't always like this, was he?" she asked, her voice smaller. "Or maybe he was, but I couldn't see it, because I was little," her voice grew back. She looked back to her mother. "Don't say it… I don't think I'd want to know… have my memories be lies…" Judy pondered how to respond there, and she got up, moving to sit side by side with her daughter, putting her arm around her shoulders.

"He loves you, you don't need to doubt that part, okay? There's all the rest, but this you have to remember." Quinn gave a tearful nod, bowing her head to her mother's shoulder. "You're sure about this, right? Because once they find her a home, it…"

"Already got her a home," she revealed. "That's who I was talking to, the one who's going to adopt her.

"Well do you know this person, that they'll be okay to…" Quinn simply nodded, too comfortable resting with her mother to go into too much detail. She was still processing all that had happened that day… the birth, the decision… the loss. Puck had told her they'd come in third when they'd spoken. She wasn't going to think on what this meant just yet.

"What about us?" she asked after a minute, looking back up to her mother. Judy nodded.

"We go home, we… catch up," she nodded, looking into her daughter's eyes. "I know I can't make up for the last few months, but I promise I'll do everything I can to change things for the better."

After a minute or two of silence, Judy realized something, confirmed it when she looked down: Quinn had fallen asleep. She was all but clinging on to her mother, but she was sleeping… She looked so much more peaceful, as though she was relaxing because she was there. At seeing this, Judy felt emotions rising in her, but she kept quiet, not wanting to wake her. She was her little girl, and in that moment oh how she looked like it. She'd been strong, more than she should have had to. She wanted her to be able to regain a normal life, as much as she could.

She had wanted the baby to be part of this new Fabray family, as strange as it may have been. She wasn't going to pretend that her daughter becoming a mother at sixteen was something she'd wanted for her, but that was where they were, and unlike Russell, she had wanted to find a way.

That was what had given her the strength to just tell him to leave. He had forced her hand, made her daughter unwelcomed in their home, and in this time he had been keeping this secret… She'd wanted to do so much more to him, but already this was something.

Quinn slept through the night, completely worn into submission. Judy remained in her post, supporting her. Her back ached, as did her arm, but it hardly mattered now… She had her baby girl back.

THE END


End file.
